1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to vehicular storage systems. More particularly, the invention relates to a vehicular storage system movably mounted within the rear of a vehicle for selective extension of at least a portion of the vehicular storage system from a rear of the vehicle such that the contents of the vehicular storage system may be accessed.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Vehicular storage systems and systems are generally well known in the art. In particular, it has been known to provide vehicular storage systems in the rear storage compartments of vehicles such as pickup trucks, vans and the like. Typically, these rear vehicular storage systems include racks or similar structures that are elevated above the bed of the vehicle such that additional cargo may be stored above the bed of the vehicle. However, most vehicles have a roof or other ceiling structure that limits the amount of clearance for accommodating storage racks. For instance, pickup trucks often have cap located above the bed of the truck. Further, known racks are generally visible to passersby such that it is inadvisable for persons utilizing such racks to use them to store valuable equipment such as tools, hunting equipment, electronics, or other valuables that may entice ne'er-do-wells to enter the vehicle by force to remove the items. Further, racks of this kind typically obstruct a driver's view through their rearview mirror or through the back window of the vehicle. Articles stored on these racks are also typically difficult to access from the rear of the vehicle.
One alternative to these known rack systems has been to provide a rack, otherwise known as a drawer or a pan, that mounts over the bed of the vehicle beneath the cap or ceiling thereof. In this manner, the bed of the vehicle remains open for additional space while the cap or ceiling area defining an upper area of the rear of the vehicle may be more effectively used for storing items. Further, such racks are less conspicuous to passersby such that a person may more safely store their valuables in these racks without fear of having them stolen.
However, these alternative designs suffer from a number of disadvantages. In particular, these known designs are quite complex and require a great deal of infrastructure to mount and secure to the interior of the vehicle's storage area. In addition, these known designs include a number of moving parts that are prone to failure, thereby reducing the reliability of the assemblies. Further, these known racks are typically quite difficult to access, particularly from outside of the vehicle. Specifically, a person must enter the rear of the vehicle in order to access the contents of the rack, even once the rack is lowered from a stowed position to a deployed position. Further, these known designs require that the user must enter the vehicle simply to move the rack from its stowed to its deployed position.
The need therefore exists to provide a vehicular storage system that does not suffer from the foregoing disadvantages. In particular, it is desired to provide a vehicular storage system that is simple in construction. Further, it is desired to provide a vehicular storage system that may accessed from outside of the vehicle.